Skirt-supporter.



No. 639,|73. Patented Dec. l2, I899.

H. V. HECKMAN.

SKIRT SUPPORTER.

(Application filed Mar. 2, 1898.) v( N o M o d e I i H? 1 :5 A 5, 1 I

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1. ivrrnn HARRIET V. HEGKMAN, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO VELLINGTON I. DENISON, OF SAME PLACE.

SKlRT-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 639,173, dated December 12, 1899.

Application filed March 2, 1898. Serial No. 672,265. No model.)

To all whom it may con/067%:

Be it known that I, HARRIET V. HEOKMAN, of Albany, in the county of Albanyand State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Supporters for Skirt-s of La dies Dresses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for supporting the skirts of ladies dresses and for adjusting the lengths of said skirts so that they will be raised sufficiently to avoid dragging the lower end of a skirt through mud, water, or slush.

The object of my invention is to provide a device for relieving the wearer of dress-skirts from the weight of the garment and to provide facilities for holding the skirt up above the dirt and filth of the walks. This object I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are herein referred to and form part of this specification.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of myinvention extended; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the same on an enlarged scale, the straps for the skirt-shortening attachment being broken apart. Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a front elevation and a side elevation of a spring-catch for grasping a skirt; and Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, details showing different forms of hooks for attaching to the waistband of a skirt and adapted to engage with the supporter.

As represented in the drawings, A designates the belt of my skirt-supporter, which may be made of any suitable flexible material, like leather, webbing, or other material possessing sufficient strength and flexibility for the purpose. At or near themiddle of said belt a metallic section 1 is secured, so as to come at the back of the wearer, and said metallic section has on its upper edge depressions 2, formed for a purpose hereinafter explained. Preferably a stop 3 is formed at the middle of said depression. At one end of the belt A a buckle Bis secured, such buckle consisting of a wire loop 4 of quadrangular form, of which one bar is secured in a bight of the belt, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the buckle can be flexed when occasion requires. At the outer end of the loop 4 and hinged to the outer bar of the latter is a plate 5, provided with prongs 6, that are formed on the free end of said plate and adapted to take into holes 7, formed near the opposite end of the belt, said holes being arranged to regulate the length of the belt as occasion may require. This plate also has side flanges which extend over and catch on the side bars of the said loop, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Attached to the belt A and projecting downwardly from it is a series of straps'G, which constitute appliances for holding up the skirts from muddy or sloppy walks or roads. The lower end of each of said straps is provided with aclamping device D, consisting of a rigid plate 8, having a transverse depression 9 and longitudinal flanges 10, provided with lugs 11, which are adapted to engage in one end of a coiled spring 12, whose end 13 bears upon the face of the plate 8. Said coiled spring acts as a hinge-joint for a movable arm 14, which is fastened to the coil. of the spring 12 by means of lugs 15, that enter the ends of the coiled spring 12. The arm 14: is provided with a transverse flange 16, having, preferably, a serrated edge which shuts into the depression 9, and thereby obtains a more secure hold on the fabric of the skirt. The outer end of the plate 8 preferably has an extension 17, whichprojects outwardly beyond the depression 9 and forms a guide, by which the fold of a skirt is directed under the clamping device D.

E, F, G, and H are different forms of hooks that are attachable to the waistband of a skirt and are adapted to engage in the depressions 2 of belt A. The hook E, which is shown in front elevation in Fig. 5 and in side elevation in Fig. 6, consists of a metallic plate provided with a hook 18 at its upper edge and with openings 19, through which stitches can be made to sew the hook E to a waistband of a skirt. The hooks 18 will engage in the depressions 2 of the belt A, so as to be adjustable in said depressions to allow a movement of the skirt that will bring it to a required position. The hook F, of which a front elevation is illustrated in Fig. 7 and a side elevation in Fig. 8, consists of a metallic plate provided with a lug 20, that is adapted to form a hook 21, and with enlargement 22, provided with holes 23, through which it can be sewed to the waistband of a skirt. The lower part of said plate is provided with points orspurs 24, which when bent rearward, as shown in Fig. 8, can be pushed through the fabric of a waistband and clenched by bending the spurs over. The hook G (shown in front elevation in Fig. 9 and in side elevation in Fig. 10) consists of a metallic strip, in which holes are formed to receive rivets 25, by which the hook can be secured directly to the waistband of a skirt or to a tape 26, which can be secured to a skirt by sewing. Said metallic strip is adapted to be bent, as at 27, to form a hook 28, that will engage in the depressions 2 of the belt A. The hook H (shown in front elevation in Fig. 11 and in side elevation in Fig. 12) consists of a strip 20 of metal, provided with a slotted opening 30,which affords the means for sewing the strip to the waist band of a skirt, and while there is an apparent difference in the construction of the several hooks shown the only real difference is in the means provided for securingsaid hooks to the waistband of a skirt.

My invention is operated in the following manner: The belt A, adjusted to a proper length to be fastened around the body of the wearer, is first secured in place, so that the metallic section 1 will be at the back,with the buckle B at the front, so that it will be readily accessible. The wearer then puts on her dress-skirt in the usual manner, said skirt being provided with either form of hooks herein shown and described, and said hooks are engaged in the depressions 2 of the metallic section of the belt A, said depressions permitting the skirt to be moved to the right or left, as occasion may require, to bring the garment into a central position, and thereby the shoulders of the wearer will be relieved from the weight of the skirt. When the walking is muddy, sloppy, or dusty, the skirt can be slightly raised to clear it from the objectionable surface of a road or walk and fastened by the clamping devices D, and the skirt thus saved from being contaminated by dragging in the dirt or slush, as the case maybe.

I am aware that skirt-supporters have heretofore been made with an entire metallic belt; but such supporters from their inflexibility and lack of elasticity to give to an expansive movement of the body have proved to be injurious to the wearer. Therefore I do not claim such devices.

Having fully described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The belt A provided with downwardly-extending parts 0 having spring-catches at their lower ends, and also with a metallic rear part 1 having in its upper edge recesses 2 which are open on top and adapted to receive fiat skirt-supporting hooks, substantially as set forth.

HARRIET V. I'IEOKMAN.

Witnesses:

WM. H. Low, J. E. MARBLE. 

